Marrying an Australian Citizen and Applying for a Partner Visa
You must lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage with an authorised celebrant at least 1 month and no more than 18 months before the ceremony, under s 42(1) of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), and marrying an Australian citizen gives you no visa or residence right by itself.
A marriage certificate is evidence in a partner visa application, not a substitute for one: you still apply for a partner visa, meet every criterion and pay the charge. Marriage law and migration law are separate systems with separate requirements, and this page takes them in that order. Verified 23 September 2026.
| Path | Where you marry | Which visa you apply for | Where you must be when you lodge | Where you must be at grant | What the marriage does for the application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marry in Australia while here on another visa, then apply onshore | Australia | Subclass 820/801 | In Australia, usually holding a substantive visa | In or outside Australia | Proves you are married. The relationship must still be genuine and continuing |
| Marry in Australia, then apply from outside Australia | Australia | Subclass 309/100 | Outside Australia | In or outside Australia | The same |
| Come to Australia to marry on a Prospective Marriage visa | Australia, within the visa period | Subclass 300, then 820/801 | Outside Australia for the 300, in Australia for the 820 | In or outside Australia | Needed before the 820 application |
| Marry overseas, then apply | Overseas | 309/100 or 820/801, depending on where you are | Outside or inside Australia | In or outside Australia | Proves you are married, if the marriage is recognised |
What you must do to marry in Australia before applying for a partner visa
- Choose an authorised celebrant. The Attorney-General's Department keeps the Register of Marriage Celebrants. Ministers of religion of recognised denominations and state registry officers can also marry you. Under s 41 the celebrant must be physically present where the marriage takes place.
- Give the Notice of Intended Marriage. Both of you sign it, with the signature observed by a listed person under s 42(2): in Australia, a celebrant, justice of the peace, lawyer, doctor, police officer or Commissioner for Declarations; outside Australia, an Australian diplomatic or consular officer or a notary public, among others. Observation can be by video link.
- Wait out the notice period. The celebrant must receive the notice at least 1 month and no more than 18 months before the wedding (s 42(1)(a)).
- Show your date and place of birth with a birth certificate or passport (s 42(1)(b)), and, if either of you was married before, evidence of the divorce or of the former spouse's death (s 42(10)).
- Sign the declaration of your conjugal status and your belief that there is no legal impediment to the marriage, in the physical presence of the celebrant (s 42(1)(c)). The celebrant must also meet each of you separately, in person, before the wedding (s 42B).
- Marry before the celebrant and at least two witnesses who are, or appear to be, over 18 (s 44).
- Get the registered certificate. The celebrant must send the marriage documents to the state or territory registry within 14 days (s 50(4)). The certificate handed over on the day is ceremonial: the Western Australian registry says it "cannot be used for any legal purpose". Order the official certificate from the registry.
Can the one-month notice period be shortened?
Only by a prescribed authority, under s 42(5), and only in the circumstances listed in Schedule 3 of the Marriage Regulations 2017 (Cth):
- employment-related or other travel commitments
- binding wedding or celebration arrangements, or a religious consideration
- a serious medical condition
- a party's involvement in legal proceedings
- an error by the celebrant in giving or keeping the notice.
The authority weighs the documents and explanations offered. Nothing in Schedule 3 is a migration reason.
What if you were married before?
The celebrant cannot marry you without evidence that the earlier marriage ended: a divorce order, a death certificate or evidence of annulment (s 42(10), and reg 70 of the Marriage Regulations 2017). An overseas divorce is recognised in Australia where it meets the tests in s 104 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which look at the parties' residence, domicile or nationality in the country that granted it.
What documents must be translated?
Ask your celebrant what they need for a document not in English. The partner visa has its own rule: Home Affairs wants every non-English document translated, by a NAATI-accredited translator if the translation is done in Australia.
Does marrying an Australian citizen give you a partner visa?
No. Marriage gives no visa, no residence, no right to remain and no automatic anything. What it does do:
- It makes you a spouse under s 5F of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), assessed with reg 1.15A of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), instead of a de facto partner.
- It takes the place of the 12-month de facto relationship requirement in reg 2.03A, which does not apply to spouses.
A married couple and a de facto couple otherwise apply for the same partner visa, pay the same charge and meet the same genuineness test.
Can you get married in Australia on a tourist visa and then apply for a partner visa?
You can marry on any visa: the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) does not look at your visa. Applying for the partner visa afterwards is where the conditions bite.
Can you then apply for a partner visa from inside Australia?
Only for the subclass 820, and only if you are in Australia when you lodge. If you do not hold a substantive visa at that point, cl 820.211(2)(d) requires you to meet Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 unless the Minister finds compelling reasons not to apply them. As at 23 September 2026, a proposal to restrict onshore applications by visitor visa holders had not become law.
What if your visa has a "no further stay" condition?
Condition 8503 stops you applying for most visas while you are in Australia. Home Affairs says a waiver must be approved before you can apply for the partner visa, and it is requested online or on Form 1447. Whether a waiver is available to you is a question about your own circumstances.
Does marrying change your visa status?
No. Your current visa, its expiry date and its conditions stay exactly as they were. The marriage does not extend it or remove a condition.
Marrying in Australia or applying on a Prospective Marriage visa
- If you are outside Australia and intend to marry here, the Prospective Marriage visa is the path. You must have met your partner in person since you both turned 18 (cl 300.214), and you marry within the visa period of 9 months from grant, or a later date of up to 15 months that the Department sets (cl 300.511). You then apply for the 820/801 from inside Australia.
- If you are already in Australia, you can marry here on your current visa and then look at the onshore or offshore partner visa.
The criteria in full are on prospective marriage visa subclass 300.
What your marriage certificate does in a partner visa application
It proves the relationship type. It does not prove that the relationship is genuine and continuing, which the Department assesses under reg 1.15A(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) against four matters:
- the financial aspects of the relationship
- the nature of the household
- the social aspects of the relationship
- the nature of your commitment to each other.
Home Affairs asks married applicants for the marriage certificate or other evidence the marriage is valid in Australia. Every other criterion is listed in the page linked at the end of this guide.
Marrying overseas instead and applying for a partner visa
The other half of the choice. Under Part VA of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), a marriage valid where it took place is generally recognised in Australia (s 88D(1)), unless an exception in s 88D(2) applies, such as a party already being married or a party not really consenting. You then apply as a spouse, onshore or offshore depending on where you are when you lodge. An overseas marriage cannot be registered in Australia, and a couple already married overseas cannot marry each other again here.
Is a religious or customary ceremony enough?
In Australia, a religious ceremony is a legal marriage when an authorised minister of religion conducts it under the Marriage Act. Overseas, the test is whether the ceremony created a valid marriage under that country's law (s 88C).
Where your marriage is registered, state by state, for the partner visa certificate
| State or territory | Registry that issues the official certificate |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages |
| Victoria | Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria |
| Queensland | Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages |
| Western Australia | Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Department of Justice |
| South Australia | Births, Deaths and Marriages, Consumer and Business Services |
| Tasmania | Births, Deaths and Marriages Tasmania |
| Australian Capital Territory | Access Canberra |
| Northern Territory | Births, Deaths and Marriages NT |
Upload the official registry certificate. It always comes from the registry of the state or territory where the wedding took place, not where you live.
Which partner visa follows the marriage
- Coming to Australia to marry is covered by the Prospective Marriage visa page linked above.
- The partner visa requirements set out every criterion after the wedding.
- The spouse visa Australia page explains which partner visa a married couple applies for.
Applying these rules to your own circumstances is immigration assistance, which ss 276 and 280 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) restrict to registered migration agents and Australian legal practitioners.
A wedding date booked without checking the visa you hold can leave you married but unable to lodge onshore, or facing Schedule 3. An application prepared by a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner is more likely to succeed, because they check your visa conditions and the lodgement rules before the notice is given, not after. No adviser can promise a grant.
Questions people ask
Does marrying an Australian citizen give you a visa?
No. Marriage gives no visa, no permanent residence and no right to remain in Australia. It makes you the citizen's spouse, and you still have to apply for a partner visa, meet every criterion and pay the charge.
Can I marry an Australian on a tourist visa?
Yes. The Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) does not restrict marriage by the visa a person holds, so you can marry while visiting. Whether you can then apply for a partner visa from inside Australia depends on your visa, including whether it carries a no further stay condition such as 8503.
How much notice do you need to get married in Australia?
At least one month. Under s 42(1) of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), the Notice of Intended Marriage must be received by the celebrant no later than one month and no earlier than 18 months before the wedding. A prescribed authority can shorten the period only in circumstances set out in the Marriage Regulations 2017.
Can I apply for a partner visa right after marrying in Australia?
Yes. There is no minimum period of marriage before a married couple can apply for a partner visa, but the relationship must be genuine and continuing and the applicant must meet the lodgement rules for the visa, including where they must be when they apply.
Sources
Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.
- Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), ss 41, 42, 42B, 44 and Part VA www.legislation.gov.au
- Marriage Regulations 2017 (Cth), Schedule 3 www.legislation.gov.au
- Attorney-General's Department, Register of Marriage Celebrants marriage.ag.gov.au
- Western Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Getting married in Australia FAQs www.wa.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Partner visa (subclass 820) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), reg 1.15A and Schedule 2 www.legislation.gov.au